Can the Volkswagen Polo prove its credentials on a Canary Island holiday?
Everybody knows that the holiday hire car is the fastest car in the world. With the understanding that your custodianship of the car is time limited, there is a liberation that comes from that realisation that the moments you are driving it are temporary, and it is an opportunity to create some lasting memories. There are two perhaps obvious aspects that define your experience of this pleasure: the type of car you are driving and the destination where you are driving it.
These two decisive factors enhance the independence and sense of adventure a hire car provides as it enables you to explore a new location in a personal way. For these reasons I think that hiring a car abroad is probably the best way of discovering somewhere new. You can go where you want to, when you want to. You don’t have to wait for other people, unlike on excursion transport, where flexibility is constricted.
Nevertheless, one of the many liberties that the Covid pandemic deprived people from was international travel. It has meant that I have missed out on holidays for the last several years. Now in 2022, that prospect has become more feasible again. The latest chance to experience car hire was on a recent two-week family holiday visiting the Canary Island Lanzarote located off the coast of West Africa.
It has several distinctive traits, most notably warm weather, volcanic landscape and pleasant beaches, and it’s this combination that makes tourism their biggest industry on the island. With dimensions of 37 miles from north to south and 16 miles from west to east, no matter where you are on the island, every area is quickly accessible. And with various types of roads linking all parts of the island, it makes for a distinctive destination for car hire.
"the Citroen C3 or the Volkswagen Polo. It was no contest, and it became a straightforward outcome"
As I’m sure you’re aware, the process of how you go about organising it is relatively straightforward, so I won’t bore you too much with the details. You could prearrange it before you travel to give you peace of mind when booking your holiday. This is recommended if you know what you want to do and where you want to go on your visit, as you’re more likely to get preferential terms the further in advance you book a hire car.
However, if you have limited knowledge of your destination, and are unsure of what excursions your holiday company offer, you can sort it out during your visit. This second option is what me and my family did through our holiday representative. As we had booked to go on several excursions with other people and a tour guide that provided insight, car hire alternatively offered better scope without a schedule so that we could operate to our own timescale.
The choice of car predominantly depends on how much money you want to spend, but also on what stock the rental company has. Naturally as a car fanatic, the fanciful temptation of selecting an exciting and interesting option does come into my mind for a moment. Then my aspirations come crashing down by the expensive prices, and what optimism I had is quickly extinguished as I accept my hopes are unrealistic. Consequently, our car came from the affordable end of the spectrum.
The Avis company we liaised with had two options to select from in this price range: the Citroen C3 or the Volkswagen Polo. It was no contest, and it became a straightforward outcome. I insist to my family that the Volkswagen Polo is the car to have, and much to my satisfaction, there was no resistance to my decision. No lobbying was needed to persuade them, as they clearly recognised the difference in brand and calibre of car, and had concurred with my discernment
In my view, Citroen still struggles with image issues, they’re just not really that cool. The exterior designs seem to have taken inspiration from kitchen appliances, some of the shapes just look weird. And that does come across as slightly embarrassing. Peugeot has done a decent job of smartening up its brand image, but Citroen hasn’t climbed that ladder yet, and they couldn’t get any lower if they tried at the moment.
By comparison, the Volkswagen Polo has no such baggage dragging it down. It was booked with a weekend grand tour of Lanzarote in mind, and as soon as the keys were handed over, I was curious to inspect the car that would be in our custodianship for the next two days. As I walk out of the airconditioned lobby of the hotel and into the intense morning heat, I hold out hope that Avis have run out of entry level Polos and that ours has been upgraded to the GTI version.
My wishful thinking is short lived. The car park is scattered with various other rental Polos, and as I’m unaware which one is ours for Saturday and Sunday, I walk through the middle of parked cars either side of me zapping the key in anticipation of our chosen Polo indicator lights flashing and doors unlocking. Suddenly, I simultaneously see and hear just that, and I zone in on the car.
This is the sixth generation Polo that started production back in 2017. I take in the exterior design and form my first impressions. Its silhouette is one of respectability and competence. It is quite a serious small hatch to look at, and its demeanour fits that description as well. I reach to open the driver’s door and climb inside. Perhaps unsurprisingly, that blueprint is much the same on the interior. It’s well designed and is of good quality for considering that it’s the entry Match model.
"I put my foot down to test the throttle response. Much to my reassurance, it’s relatively reactive, thankfully"
There’s no detectable fault that initially stands out. If any exist, they should reveal themselves over the next two days. The first trip we are set to embark on is to Costa Teguise, a coastal town built to accommodate tourism. It has four alluring white sandy beaches that have prompted our interest. I’m keen to find out what the Polo is like to drive on the road. There are two obvious factors that shape that experience – the car and the road.
Let’s start with the latter. In Lanzarote, you drive on the right side of the road, so that means the way you operate the car is in every way the opposite to the UK. Confusing to some, but once you grasp that concept, it’s intelligible to process. Besides, it’s not like I haven’t driven abroad before. As I pull out of the parking space, I put my foot down to test the throttle response. Much to my reassurance, it’s reletively reactive, thankfully, and surprisingly so, actually.
That’s because the engine is a 1.0 litre TSI petrol unit that produces 95bhp. Navigating our way out of coastal town Puerto del Carmen, the Polo is an easy car to drive and threading through urban streets is no hassle. Although, there are some signs of wear and tear, like the five-speed manual transmission which does stick sometimes, making it an effort to change gear when it does. The biting point on the clutch is a bit high too. But apart from these two issues, the Polo feels fairly fresh.
And that’s not because the air conditioning is keeping the interior temperature chilled. Out on rural roads, the Polo holds its own, and it doesn’t feel underpowered by its modest output. Compared to the smallest engine it could have had, which would have been gutless, it is a relief that there is some power when you bury the throttle. Of course, you want more, but it doesn’t leave you exasperating so desperately that you’d rather walk.
We arrive in Costa Teguise, and you get the sense it’s been no problem for the Polo. The next few hours are spent relaxing on the beach, walking the coastline and living very much in the moment. Out of the confines of the hotel complex, an unfiltered view of Lanzarote comes into focus. These moments on holiday are so sacred because of their fleeting existence. They are some of the most special and peaceful of my life. So brief are they that from one moment to the next, they are gone, lost in time.
But they remain forever in your memory. Much like the Polo, which has proven to be such a stable car so far. It continues to be so transporting us to the next destination. We’re headed for a secluded beach in Yaiza, another coastal town on the south of the island. There is a long dusty gravel track that leads to the car park near the beach, or to my mind, a rally stage. It was time to subject the Polo to some rough treatment to find out just how tough it is. Perhaps unsurprisingly though, it copes rather well with this sterner test.
The Polo takes the punches in its stride even, and it isn’t broken by the onslaught it receives. The occupants though have a far harder time of it, as they bounce and jolt in every direction, much to their disapproval. It wasn’t the most comfortable ride for them, but I was conducting a rigorous road test, so that also meant doing wheel spins and trying out the handbrake, which was fun times. I leave no stone unturned me! It’s on the return drive on this track that we stop to hurriedly take some photos of the Polo that you see in this piece.
However, it was on the drive back to the resort that evening that the Polo revealed more of itself. Instead of driving the same roads when we set out for the beach in Yaiza, we chose another route for our return drive to the hotel, and it proved to be the correct decision. It was a stretch of fast flowing road strewn like spaghetti through the volcanic mountains, and it gave me the opportunity to delve into the performance and dynamic capabilities of the Polo.
"exploiting the bandwidth of the Polo is more rewarding than it first appears"
There is something about the challenge of extracting the potential out of cars that captivates me. Taking them to the limit, you find out just what they are made of. It means exploiting the bandwidth of the Polo is more rewarding than it first appears. As we make the initial climb up the volcanic landscape, the performance stats ripple through my mind: 0-62mph takes 10.8 seconds, the top speed is 116mph. It’s hardly the mind-boggling velocity to tackle a ribbon of road through a volcano.
But it reminds me that there is some margin to play with, and that you can almost race it on the road. There is a series of hairpins and chicanes that the Polo contends with, but it doesn’t relish the task of hurtling through the sequence of corners at speed. It is a hardship for which it endures. It makes driving the Polo a bit of a handful, as you have to take into account counteracting understeer and body roll. But there is some connection through the steering, it’s not entirely numb of feeling.
The stresses and strains are worth the effort though as we approach the summit. A spectacular view shows a unique perspective of the island. The backdrop reaffirms to me that we really do live in a beautiful world, and that Lanzarote has secrets to share if you are prepared to look for them. As we drive down the other side of the volcanic mountain, a different approach is needed to combat the gravitational pull. It’s no longer about engine power, but about braking distance.
For the Polo, it is another brutal test of endurance in the tight hairpins and slow chicanes. Stomping on the brake pedal, there is a lack of depth and bite. It stops, but not as well as it could had it had a more substantial braking system, and I imagine after a prolonged period of persistent heavy braking, there would be significant fade. As the road opens up and becomes more flowing, the demands change from braking distances to driver reactions in fast corners. It’s a personal challenge I try my best to conquer.
As the road levels out, you can sense the Polo breathing a sigh of relief as the demands of mountain driving with steep inclines and declines ends. And as we head back to the hotel, our Saturday with the Polo has ended as well. It’s been an interesting day, capturing Lanzarote through the Polo. There have been few problems to note of, but as Sunday beckoned, one irritation came to my realisation.
The interior door handles. Or more specifically, when you grip the interior door handles with your hands, they make a crackling noise, which does disappoint, as the build quality is good overall, especially so considering that this Polo Match is an entry model that’s now five years old. But it is nevertheless also annoying, as the sound is hardly music to your ears. With this issue in mind, our Sunday destinations are planned out.
Our main location was Mirador del Rio in the north of Lanzarote, where there is a viewpoint that overlooks a smaller island called La Graciosa two miles from the coast of the island. The Polo accomplishes the journey with no troubles. There are no worries with the Polo, it’s a car that can be relied upon, because there is nothing really wrong with it. As long as you accept the entry model for what it is, and you view it through that lens, it will meet your needs.
In many ways, the Polo resembles a smaller Golf, which on the rationale hand is good, as that formula has been such a phenomenal success for Volkswagen. But on the other hand, it is exactly what holds it back. You can sense that the Polo is in a comfort zone, and it lacks the boldness to stand out. And if you stand still, over time, you go backwards. When you compare that to the Ford Fiesta, you understand why the Fiesta is the best small hatch right now.
"the lack of sparkle when you contrast the Polo to the Fiesta is a missing ingredient from the recipe that turns a good car into a great one"
There was a lot to like about the Polo Match. It's spacious and, when you aren’t rallying, it's comfortable as well. The example from 2017 we had in Lanzarote received no particular criticism from my family, which means Volkswagen must have done a lot right here. It's competent and respectable, and it won’t disappoint you if you bought one, it really is a comprehensive package.
But the lack of sparkle when you contrast the Polo to the Fiesta is a missing ingredient from the recipe that turns a good car into a great one. And that is the tangible difference between the two. Yet when the keys are handed back to Avis on Monday morning, I can’t help but feel a tinge of sadness and a realisation that I enjoyed driving the Polo and exploring Lanzarote. It only struck me writing this that the experience captured the essence of my fanaticism for cars.
It reinvigorated my passion for cars, which on reflection, is the best kind of memory you can have.
Photos: Callum & Nigel Alexander
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